Charcoal portrait of Charles Fletcher Taylor (Fletch) dressed in suit coat, shirt, tie, and hat. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature. At the bottom right corner, "Fletcher Taylor" is written in different handwriting and black ink.

Biographical Note

Fletch Taylor was one of the first members of Quantrill's raiders. He took part in the Lawrence, Kansas, massacre on August 21, 1863, and lost his arm from a gunshot wound in 1864. After the war he became a wealthy and respected citizen as vice president and general superintendent of the Joplin Mining and Smelting Co. Date of death is uncertain but may have been sometime between August 1916 and August 1917.

See Also

For a detail description of some of Taylor's and John Thrailkill's activities specifically in Caldwell County, see "History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri...." St. Louis, MO: National Historical Company, 1886, pp. 195-210 [MVSC 977.8185 C14a] and "Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Missouri in the Civil War," p. 156 [MVSC Q 977.803 B67P].

The portrait was separated from the original mat board. It is believed that most of the Stewart drawings were made from photographs. The MVO (Missouri Valley Oversize) is composed of various types of art work including paintings, sculpture, drawings and sketches, large-size photographs, posters, and other miscellaneous items.

Reproduction (printing, downloading, or copying) of images from Kansas City Public Library requires permission and payment for the following uses, whether digital or print: publication; reproduction of multiple copies; personal, non-educational purposes; and advertising or commercial purposes. Please order prints or digital files and pay use fees through this website. All images must be properly credited to: "Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri." Images and texts may be reproduced without prior permission only for purposes of temporary, private study, scholarship, or research. Those using these images and texts assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and privacy that may arise.